Saturday, April 18, 2015

HYPERBOLIC OR SOBERLY ACCURATE?

His Eminence, Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago died yesterday. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.

He wrote this not too long ago. Was His Eminence engaging us in the art of exaggeration (hyperbole) in order to catch our attention or was his warning something Archbishop Blase Cupich should take seriously and will happen to him and his successors? I opine, you react.

“I
expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor
will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the
shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the Church has done so often in human history.”

No, I don't think it was hyperbole either. The Church will be purified through suffering which has begun already with the Christian martyrs in the Middle East. And the Church is hated in many sections of our communities, as Vox Cantoris points out.

Requiescat in pace, Cardinal George, good and faithful servant of the Lord.

"Speaking a few years ago to a group of priests, entirely outside of the current political debate, I was trying to express in overly dramatic fashion what the complete secularization of our society could bring. I was responding to a question and I never wrote down what I said, but the words were captured on somebody’s smart phone and have now gone viral on Wikipedia and elsewhere in the electronic communications world. I am (correctly) quoted as saying that I expected to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. What is omitted from the reports is a final phrase I added about the bishop who follows a possibly martyred bishop: “His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the church has done so often in human history.” What I said is not “prophetic” but a way to force people to think outside of the usual categories that limit and sometimes poison both private and public discourse."

This is the trajectory we are on unless God intervenes in some way.He will sometimes allow things to transpire for a greater good,to satisfy His Divine Justice, and for the benefit of His Holy Church.It is ever a time to pray, fast and give alms that God will extend to us us His mercy.

Since Monday after morning Mass, my Rosary Group [composed of women - singles and widows] has been praying for the defense and protection of SF Archbishop Cordileone, and for the repose of the soul of Cardinal George.

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About Me

”The views expressed on this
social network are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of my bishop or the Diocese of Savannah.” Comments that I post do not necessarily reflect my views or the views of the Bishop of the Diocese of Savannah.
I am a priest of the Diocese of Savannah ordained in 1980 at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist. I am currently the pastor of Saint Anne Church in Richmond Hill, Georgia. I am the former Director of Vocations from 1986 to 1998 and former Director of Liturgy and Diocesan Master of Ceremonies from 1985 to 1991.